At the end of the course, the student will be able to:
1. reproduce, analyse, contextualise and critically reflect on the principal developments in the history of photography.
2. analyse and interpret representative photographs by placing them in their cultural contexts and relating them to developments in a larger social, political and economic framework.
3. apply conceptual and theoretical notions proper to photography theory to specific case studies taken from the history of photography.
4. evaluate and critically engage with the conceptual and theoretical frameworks proper to historical and current academic research in the field of photography and relate these evolving frameworks to larger developments in the humanities.
5. conduct and organise research under supervision on a specified photographic case study by applying the skills and knowledge acquired during this course, expanding this knowledge through advanced heuristic skills and critically reflecting on photography history, theory and methodology.
6. communicate research results in writing in accordance with professional and scholarly standards.

This course contributes to qualifications 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 of the BA Art history.
 

This course takes you on a fascinating and thought-provoking trip through the history of photography. We examine a number of crucial stages and key issues in the history of photography as an artistic and/or creative medium, from its inception in the first half of the nineteenth century to the present day. The course aims (1) to give a concise overview of the development of the photographic medium as a means of creative expression; (2) to introduce students to the most important theoretical debates around the photographic medium; and (3) to analyse in depth a number of case studies from the field of recent and historical photography on the basis of the historical, theoretical and methodological knowledge and skills acquired in this course.